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95 thoughts on “Workout Groups”

I know i’m probably going to get knocked by the “don’t rush the prospect crowd” but… I’d love to see middle move up to high A mid season. As for the big 3, I wouldn’t be suprised to see 1 of them get bumped to AA by mid-season…

I’d love to see it too, but it will all depend on performance and IP. Considering the dearth of high-upside starters at AA, one would have to think that one of May, Colvin, Cosart, J-Rod, or even Hernandez could get bumped up during the season if they look ready.

Typical minor league roster is 24 players (some leagues increase to 25 at times). 12-13 fielders, 12 pitchers. Williamsport/Short Season is 30 players, and I think the GCL and lower leagues are 30-35 players.

Mattair and Savery were playing for the Clearwater group today. One did well and the other well no so good. Savery made a nice pick on a throw at first on a great play by Edgar Duran at short who went far to his left and made an off balance throw to get the runner at first. Then late in the game Savery went yard down the right field line with a line drive home run. Mattair booted a ball at third on a ground ball and struggled at the plate.

But the day belonged to Jeremy Barnes who went deep twice. His second shot was one of the longest I have ever seen hit at Ashburn Field just to the left of the batters eye in center. Too bad Jeremy backed up Cesar Hernandez at second today and does not seem to have a regular position locked up.

Brody Colvin started but did not have a good breaking ball today but still went 4 innings giving up only one unearned run on three hits and picked up two strike outs. He was helped by the strong accurate arm of his battery mate Kyle LaFrenz who threw out three runners and two of them with Colvin on the mound. I have yet so see any runner successfully steal a base off LaFrenz this spring. Chris Duffy doubled to right center. Jiwan James had a couple of seeing eye base hits and stolen base and D’Arby Myers had a two out rbi double.

Over on Schmidt Field of the Lakewood group Rupp, Dugan, Collier, Althere and Hudson put some good swings on pitches. Dugan had a line drive double and a two rbi triple both to right. Althere had a rbi double off the left field.

My three stars of the Complex this afternoon were Barnes, Savery and LaFrenz. Just like a catcher with a deadly arm like LaFrenz has shown so far.

The group of catchers is still the most skewed as Kratz, Sardinha and Gosewisch continue with the big club for the time being. Expect Kratz and Sardinha at Lehigh Valley with Gosewisch starting at Reading. Rickey did a great job on the Spring Training report today. Colvin wasnt as sharp as you would have liked and had several balls hit very hard off of him. That being said, he didnt give up any earned runs in 4 innings. Mattair stuggled in the field and Savery took a nasty fastball off his right elbow but immediately bounced back with a stolen base and later with a homer. Kyle Lafrenz was a huge help to Colvin, gunning down three would be base stealers.

Salisbury is reporting that because of Michael Young the Rangers have had scouts at the Complex the last several days. Maybe this is why Mattair and Savery were playing there today with Group three. The Lakewood and Clearwater groups have now played two straight days at the Complex. Previously the AAA and AA groups played two straight days at the Complex. Usually they alternate each day between home and road.

Halladay really likes Goeswich as a catcher. He chose him when he pitched in a minor league game. Possible future as a backup catcher for Gosewich? He hasn’t shown much ability to hit, but maybe if these hits can be big (like the game-winning, two out bottom of the ninth, two-run single when the the Phils were down one in a recent spring-training game) he could be a backup in the big leagues.

To me, Barnes has always been a sleeper to make the majors as a solid utility guy, play some 2B, 3B, maybe some LF eventually, solid ABs as a pinch hitter, good solid guy to have on the team. Just my unscientific impression. He has been a good player everywhere he has played. My hunch is he keeps playing well up the ladder and gets a chance to be a role player.

Would be nice if Texas sees something in Savery and takes him as a piece in a Young deal. That would limit the bleeding of some other guys we like better. That said, Savery is playing like a guy who wants to make the majors. Good line drive power, a little athleticism for a solidly built guy, decent fielder. Could be a piece for us if he is not traded. How many years of development as a hitter do we have for him?

Way is in Group 3 – I assume he’s pitching. Group 3 competition must be nasty. There are eight potential starters there who either have had good results or are high upside (or both): Colvin, Cosart, May, J-Rod, Pettibone, Shreve, Hernandez, and Way.

If memory serves, Chris Kissock was one of the players the Phils brought to CBP for a young player orientation along with 4 or 5 other prospects in January…how come there’s been no talk since then about Kissock as a prospect? Did something happen in the off-season to change their perception?

I don’t think Kissock has ever been on our or any one else’s top 30. He’s been to Arizona two years in a row. He’s 25 and has only pitched as high as AA so that’s working against him. He’s been effective but gets overshadowed by Schwim, Stutes, Rosy, DeFratus, Herndon and the list goes on and on. He has probably a 10% chance at a cup of coffee in the Majors but it will be for some other team.

In the AA game, Overbeck , Langleyand Boucher had 2 hits a piece. Dabbs and Mitchell were hbp. Mitchell was hit on his Right hand . He will have x-rays tonight or tomorrow. The pitchers, pitched well. Edell through 5plus shutout innings. Ellis, Chapman, pitched well in relief. Brummett pitched the last inning was touched up a little. Back to the hitters, Overbeck and Ruf played solid defense. Overbeck making a diving catch down the line and making a nice throw to get the runner. Ruf made a couple of nice plays at first, also digging a few out of the dirt. IF im not mistaken AA won 7-2.

Schlitter has a bad elbow and is being evaluated. The walking wounded are starting to pile up. Gillies hamstring is getting to be a big concern. A speed guy with a bad hammy is like a power hitter with one arm. Bocock is also getting another MRI. Contreras has a scratched cornea. Utley’s name can no longer be spoken. Singleton has a sore arm supposedly because of the move to the OF and the throws he’s had to make. Vic had a collision with Ibanez and has a gash over an eye. Do we have the depth for all this stuff? In the end, I guess we can call it just another spring training.

Jay Johnson, if this is the same Jay Johnson, is listed as a pitcher in the workout groups. He’s listed as 28 years old and has pitched only 4 innings in his professional career. He played 400 games as an OF’er. Baseball-Reference has his last action from 2009. Interesting…. Maybe he’s a guy who’s been clocked at 100mph on an outfield throw.

Please don’t send one of the top guys for Michael Young. Nothing against him, but could we not get an outfielder that may be a better option if we are up for trading that type of talent?
I have seen bits and pieces where Savery seems to be having a great spring. Would that be accurate?
Also, never has there been a time where there are so many guys worth following in the minors. There are so many guys who have the tools to perhaps put it together.

A few of us just got back from 4 days down in heaven. 86 degrees and sunny every day and as much baseball as you can stand. Ricky Branch is doing a great job with his observations so I’ll try not to duplicate. Some random observations: Santana, as is typical of a young kid, put on some more muscle and looks great and is hitting the ball very well. Collier says his hand feels great and he also added some muscle and is hitting the ball quite well. Hudson looks way better than last year and hit one out on Saturday. There are 7 legit outfielders in the Lakewood work group and it will be interesting to see what happens. Biddle is larger than I expected and looks great. Eldemire is playing with the W-Port group and will stay with them. He said his hand still bothers him some which I guess is normal post surgery. In one game, Zeid, Cisco and Aumont all looked great. Cesar Hernandez is “very” smooth at 2B but definitely lacks the arm to play anywhere else. He looks like a future major league 2B. Right now, Barnes and Cesar are splitting 2B at CWater so something will have to give. Barnes still looks good to me as a possible Ute down the road with a good bat. James is by far the best defensive CF in camp and covers as much ground as anyone not named Bourn. Unfortunately, Mattair’s bat really doesn’t look good. They’ve tried him at the Reading level but I doubt he’ll start the season there. Rupp is huge and really hits the ball hard. He’s definitely someone to follow. Poor Gillies, he looks like a caged animal with all this energy but with a hamstring that won’t let him play. Duran doesn’t look like a future major league SS to me. Garner is having lots of trouble throwing strikes with his FB but controls his curve very well. Walter only hit 87 with his FB but hopefully he can pick up speed as he gets more instruction. Unfortunately, he didn’t jump out at me when I saw him pitch and neither did Pointer who was playing RF with Eldemire in LF. I watched DeFratus pitch and he was a little inconsistent but he made some pitches that were unhittable, moving and diving. I think he’s still learning what works for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he opens as the closer at Reading because of Stutes, Schwimer, and Matheson all at LHV. There’s no way that Bastardo has a spot locked down, he didn’t look good against the Yanks. All in all, a great time!

I was at some of the games in Clearwater and saw a few good games and I agree with what you wrote but you did not mention Myers he’s having a great spring training. 2 out double with rbi, triple with rbi, he hit off Aj Burnett and he stole a base.

Maybe we need a new thread to discuss what would be appropriate in terms of players to pry Young from the Rangers, as it sounds more and more likely that Utley may not be back this season and the Phils are seriously considering dealing for Young? If the Rangers are going to eat some of his salary then it will be a heavy cost in prospects.

It’d be sensible if Young were on a one year contract, but he’s under contract for 2-3 and I don’t think it would be wise to acquire him. He’s 34, hit bat is declining and he was one of the worst fielding 3Bman in the league.

In all of the reports I’ve read this year (either here or Blueclaws blog) I have yet to see any mention of Miguel Alvarez. It seems every day Altherr, Dugan, Santana and Collier are getting multiple hits. Not much buzz about Alvarez.

I feel really bad for Alvarez. The guy goes out and hits 325 last year and now has too many prospects ahead of him to even get any at bats. I think they’ll either push him up or down but he won’t play here this year. Just too many guys with a higher pedigree to compete with for him.

There are still regular ab’s available for Miguel Alvarez, as long as they don’t waste too many on Hewitt.
Also, not sure who would play 2B if Hernandez gets placed in Clearwater. I guess it would be either Buschini or Payton.

Rube is good at holding his powder. I think he’ll eventually get something for Blanton. If you involve a third team who sends prospects to Texas for Blanton I don’t think you’ll need to add as much as Cosart.

I don’t think that trade even makes the Phillies better this season. There’s a reason the Rangers shunted Young out of their starting lineup. He’s not good defensively, offensively he’s above average but declining.

But then if you acquire Young, you lock yourself into him at third base through 2013. And when Utley comes back what happens with Polanco? He’s under contract through next year. None of them can play shortstop. I think Young is more of a name than a useful option at this point.

Michael Young is not good enough anymore to merit any top prospects, especially at a cost of 8 million Dollars per year. Trading Cosart in any deal for Young, even while unloading Blanton’s salary, does not make the team better.

I’m loathe to suggest trade targets, but what about Scott Sizemore? The Tigers seem set against giving him another shot, installing Will Rhymes at second base again. Sizemore has produced solid numbers at AAA Toledo and is right handed. He’d be worth a Trevor May perhaps.

If 2b were a dime a dozen, the Phillies wouldn’t have had to jump on Castillo the moment he was released. Starting quality 2nd basesemen are harder to get than single A, RH pitchers, with no control or command.

Move Barnes to 2nd base and Hernandez to shortstop. Cesar is said to have a good glove and all of the tools to play SS well…including a good arm. He projects to be an OBA and stolen base guy…at the top of the lineup.

Sort of J-Roll with OBA skills.

And of course SS is one of the holes in the near future with this franchise. Time is now to make the switch. Beneficial to Barnes, too. Since he hasn’t the range required for SS and does seem to have good hitting skills as well as average to better glove-work, he’d then have found HIS position that could bring him further toward MLB nirvana.

Now is the time to do it; projected for the bigs in 2013 for both…at these updated positions. And, VOILA, the annoying SS question will have been answered.

Saying Hernandez could be Rollins with OBP is flat out erroneous. Hernandez has zero power, while Rollins is one of the top 20 power hitting shortstops ever. As far as SS, I haven’t seen it personally but I suspect there’s a reason the Phils haven’t played him there. Were they really just moving him in deference to Edgar Duran? I doubt it. To me, Hernandez strikes me as a new version of Luis Castillo (when he was good).

Yes…J-Roll’s contract is up this year in October. THAT is one reason to consider SS as a vital need. Scouts and pundits and BA claim that Cesar is more than up to the task of being a good SS…unless you know better.

At the leadoff spot no power to speak of is necessary. In fact, J-Roll’s willingness to swing for the fences has harmed the Phils offense since his 30-homer year. A lead-off oba of .330 is not acceptable.

As you must know, lead-off people have the job of getting on base (OBA to you) that J-roll has consistently failed at for all seasons except his MVP year. A high oba at the lead-off spot makes the offense go…something sorely missing from their offense . It is no coincidence that with their horrendous OBA in ’10 plus Utley/Howard injuries, the offense took another BIG hit in ’10.

What Hernandez brings is all the right tools: high oba plus speed on the bases plus a good glove and range and arm. THAT is prototypical of a MLB lead-off man. Calculated as much or more to do with the team’s offense as any other position in the lineup.

IF he is owner of those tools, give him a SS glove NOW!

Unless you want to see Galvis as the only alternative to fill the position in 2013.

Because of the franchise’s being almost bare at the position, now is the time to plan for the near future. And, J-roll will need to be around until then because nobody else exists in the system…Galvis being YOUR choice?

I just think that when an organization sees a player every day at SS (in the VSL) and then moves him to second, there’s probably a good reason. Yeah a shortstop is nice, but no amount of wishcasting is going to make Hernandez into something he’s not.

And keep in mind I’m HIGH on Hernandez as a prospect. He well could be our leadoff man of the future. I just think that future is at 2b.

As far as replacing Rollins, its a shame baseball doesn’t have some sort of system that would allow the Phillies to perhaps buy a new shortstop.

I wouldn’t say its a bad time for a trade. Other teams are evaluating their rosters and identifying expendable players (or players with no options left who don’t fit). Remember we acquired David Delucci on the last weekend of ST a few years ago. You’ll see a lot of minor deals like that.